The Cost of Love: A Danny Phantom Adventure
by bewaretheboxghost
Summary: Set a few weeks after the events of Phantom Planet, Danny has adjusted to his secret identity being known. But when Walker puts a large bounty on the ghost boy, can Danny twart every ghost that pursues him? Read more to find out!
1. Chapter 1

The Cost of Love: A Danny Phantom Adventure

Chapter 1:

It was a cold and dull November morning and as usual Sam, Tucker and Danny sat leaning on their desks, their chins propped up by their fists, while they were surrounded by sea of dazed classmates, where some, such as Quan, were on the verge of snoring and drooling. It was a boring English class even for Mr. Lancer's standards as his monotone voice droned on about the existentialism of _Waiting for Godot_.

Mr. Lancer raised his head from the book and glanced half-heartedly around the room, "Does anyone know what these two poor unfortunate loafers-" he noticed Quan dozing off and raised voice to arouse him, "-who obviously did not pay attention in English, are waiting for?" Quan perked his head, and looked around. Realizing that it was still class, he leaned back in his chair and stared at the blackboard.

Danny muttered groggily, "I have no clue," he glanced up at the clock mounted on the wall, "but I know what I'm waiting for."

Tucker looked more confused than tired, "Yeah, I have no idea what is going on."

Sam leaned over and hissed loudly, "That's what you get for playing Cyber-Boss 5 all night, instead of reading the play."

Tucker merely shrugged, "Even if I did read it, it would still make no sense. What's the point?"

Thinking it was the most delightful sound the students ever heard, the bell rang, finally ending their misery. In flash of bodies moving, they grabbing their books and went running out the door; the classroom was evacuated in record time. When Mr Lancer glanced up from his book again, he realized that the whole room was completely empty. He pulled out his handkerchief, wiped the sweat from his brow and sighed, "Thought that class would never end".

Meanwhile, Sam, Danny and Tucker walked down the hall and as they passed, everyone jumped out of the way to make room for them and stared with appreciation. Quan smiled and said, "Nice one the other night, I knew you would sock it to him!" As Danny passed him, he smiled awkwardly. As they make their way to the cafeteria for lunch they heard, "Hey Fentino!-" Danny naturally flinched when he was addressed this. "There's room over here!" Danny looked up and saw Dash pointing hopefully to a spot on the bench beside him.

They ignored him, sat at different table and Danny smiled, "Still haven't gotten used to the way people treat me now".

Sam simply said, "What do you expect them to do now that they know you're the hero that saves the town from mortal peril every night?"

Tucker smiled and waved to a group of sophomore girls starring with admiration in their direction, "Yeah, besides you are friends with the past mayor of this town."

Sam snorted through her straw of ice tea, "Ha! I'm surprised they don't chuck food at us, I mean, honestly, Mini-skirt Friday's?"

Tucker looking hurt, but nonetheless defiant, "Let me just say that I left the position, because I wanted to live a normal teenage life, not because they made me."

Danny and Sam glanced at each other and laughed. Danny had to admit, life could not be any better for him. He was admired by all as a hero, he didn't have to hide his powers anymore and he could be excused from class anytime he wanted to go fight a ghost. But one of the most satisfying parts of his life was that he was finally and truly Sam's boyfriend, and he would never trade that for the world.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2:

Meanwhile in the mysterious purple, green and black swirls of the Ghost Zone, Skulker in his towering and shining armoured suit and Technus in his sleek white trench coat and sunglasses were standing in front of a ginormous billboard that was placed in the centre of it all.

Technus, turned and smiled at Skulker, "Oh, you've finally made it."

Skulker was too busy eyeing every corner of the billboard to look at Technus, "Did Walker raise the reward, again?"

Technus smiled, "Oh, yes! He is having a difficult time catching him now that his powers are far superior to his guards."

Skulker raised his hand to his metal chin in thought, "Wouldn't help that the whole human world is protecting him now that they know who he is."

Technus was way ahead of him, "Yes, it would be impossible to catch him," He looked up at Skulker egging him on, "But not necessarily to lure him into a trap."

A lightbulb flicked on in Skulker's head, "Of course, that would be easy," now he started smiling, "And I could try out my new trap programming."

Technus grinned, "I think a joint operation may guarantee instant success."

Skulker was really excited, "Couldn't agree more. I'll work on the trap, you work on the luring."

Technus starred back at the billboard hungrily, "I think we've just started a very profitable partnership."

At this moment both the ghosts laughed maniacally, their voices echoing throughout the empty spaces of abyss and off the doorways to different worlds. They both soared off in separate directions, still laughing. Behind them lay a very large image of Danny Phantom, leaning against the right side of the board, arms crossed, grinning with the fringe of his thick white hair resting just above his stunning green eyes. Underneath the picture appeared the words painted in scarlet,

Wanted Alive: Danny Phantom, The Ghost Boy

Reward: $300 000 000.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3:

Danny, Sam and Tucker were all sitting on Danny's bed in his room pretending to be doing their homework, but were really watching TV. Just then, a loud commercial came on saying in a rather annoying New Yorker accent, "Come one, come all to the 30th Annual Computer Science Emporium in Amity Park. The Annual Home to all the innovative and stunning technology you can your hands on, from the latest PDA models to the smallest in portable audio devices. Make all your techno-geek dreams come true!"

Tucker was starring intently at the TV, drooling, "Can we go? Please!"

Danny was not sure he would want to spend his weekend looking at technology, "er..."

Sam butted in, "Sure. I could always a new set of Ultra-Recyclable Goth headphones."

Danny turned to Sam, "What happened to the ones I gave you for your birthday?"

Sam grimaced as she replied, "Let's just say they started to recycle too soon."

Tucker was now looking at his PDA, "Yes! Gotta' love technology conventions! Maybe I can buy an upgrade for this beauty."

Just then Maddie Fenton yelled in a singsong voice, "Supper's ready, bring your little friends down."

Tucker smelt the air, "Ooo! We're having pork-roast."

Sam did not look amused, "Oh goody."

They walked downstairs to find the rest of the Fentons already sitting at the table. Jack, in his large, orange jumpsuit tried to grab a piece of pork with his gloved hand, but Maddie slapped his hand away, "Wait until everyone's here!"

Jack, looking more like her child then her husband, obediently said, "Okay."

When they all settled in, Maddie said, "Oh here Sam, I know you don't like this meat stuff". Instead, she placed in front of her a fresh garden salad with baby tomatoes and parmesan cheese sprinkled throughout it. You could tell she was trying to impress Sam, since she never made anything that good.

Jack said in his loud pompous voice, "This Sunday, the Fentons are going to the Tech Convention!"

Danny put down the piece of pork he was about to eat, "Yeah, I was planning to go with Sam and Tucker anyways."

Jack pointed his finger up to the sky, "Then it's a outing!"

Maddie nodded her head in agreement, "Yes, we need more anti-matter couplings and a new endo-plasmic barometer for a new invention we're designing."

Jazz added, "And I need to buy a laptop for college."

In that instant, Maddie's eyes started to water. She sniffed and then she started sobbing uncontrollably as she hugged Jazz tightly, "My little baby is all grown up!"

To the side Tucker said to Danny, "What's wrong with your mom?"

Danny merely replied like it was nothing unusual, "Oh, she just gets that way whenever anyone mentions college, now."

Meanwhile, Jack said loudly over Maddie's crying, "Ah. College, the best years of my life. I would trade anything in the world to relieve them again. Mind you I wouldn't make friends with that wacko Vlad again."

Maddie arised completely fine and not crying, "By the way, what's he up to now?"

Danny laughed remembering, "He's probably still floating around in space."

Maddie said matter-of-factly, "Well, he got what he deserved" she then grinned and advanced on Danny saying in a baby-voice, "threatening my little boy's life so many times." She pulled Danny into a tight squeeze.

"Mom, ger'off me!" Danny said suffocating, his cheeks turning red with embarrassment.

Sam giggled, as Jack said proudly, "But you beat him every time, that's my boy!" Danny, tired of being suffocated, went intangible, slipped behind his chair out of her grip and returned to normal standing on the tiled kitchen floor.

Maddie hugged the air for a while, but recoiled, realizing that Danny wasn't there. She laughed and said "Oh, sorry dear."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4:

When Sunday finally approached, Danny was more than tired. Every night he would encounter some ghostly villain or another, who was trying to vanquish him. Though these ghost were easy to get rid off, it was still exhausting since there would be at least three or four visits a night. Why there was a sudden spike in ghost sightings around his neighbourhood beat him. Even after activating the ghost-shield around his house, he would still be awakened by the cold, blue ghost sense from his mouth, and would be unable to fall asleep again. So when the Fentons, Tucker and Sam rode in the Fenton- RV to the convention, Danny leaned his head against the stainless-steal walls. His eyes had dark purple shadows underneath them and his blue irises were surrounded in a veiny ring of red.

Tucker who was sitting on the edge of his seat, pumped to be going to the Technology hub of the year, noticed Danny fatigued in the corner, "Woah, man you don't look so good."

Sam looked at him worriedly, "Yeah, Danny, when's the last time you slept?"

Danny who was staring at the back of Jazz's leather seat, jerked his head in their direction, "Huh?" After a few seconds he realized what they were talking about, "umm... since Tuesday, I think."

"Maybe we shouldn't go to this thing," Sam said in a concerned voice.

Tucker's heart plummeted, "What?! And miss the thing I was looking forward to the most, when I had to endure a full week of school!"

Danny sat up straight, "No, Tucker's right, Sam. Don't let me ruin it for you, I'll be fine once we get there."

Sam was about to reject this idea, but Tucker, whose face was now pressed against the window exclaimed, "We're here!"

They were parked in front of large rec centre plastered with large banners of the latest gadgets and gismos positioned in a way that the sunlight shone on their smooth metallic surfaces.

Tucker jumped out of the RV before it even was parked in a spot, "Come on, you guys!" Danny and Sam unwillingly ran to catch up to him before he got lost. Once they entered through the sleek automatic doors they were faced with a whoosh of air-conditioning. Tucker screamed, "NO WAY!!!!" Before Danny and Sam could see what he was excited about, he ran away. They found him standing the section of the showroom, where a sign, saying in think silver letters,"The Latest in PDA's" hung from above. Tucker was near the front counter, where a skinny and pale clerk was displaying a small red PDA.

When they reached them, the salesman was describing its features in a high, squawky voice, "It can hold 4 megabytes more data, than the 4.0 version and still function as a daily planner and mp3 player. And if you buy this new upgrade you will be able to play live streaming video, and be able to pick up any WiFi frequency within 20 miles."

As Tucker regarded it with adoration, he said under his breath, "How much?...Never mind, I'll take it."

The salesman was smiling holding it up, "With the upgrade?"

Tucker basically shoved the money in his face, "Of course!"

After two hours in the PDA section Tucker had finally walked away with his hands full of plastic bags. Sam whispered to Danny, "Now what can I get him for his birthday? He's practically bought the whole place!"

"You can always get him socks," Danny replied, "I think they're selling headphones over there." They came up to the centre of the auditorium, which was completely devoted to all things audio.

Sam, who peering over the heads of dozen techo-geeks gawking at a speaker set, said "I think I see the headphones I want. Maybe I'll just quick grab them, it's too crowded to stay." Danny couldn't agree more, since any moment people would eventually figured out who he was and he would be ambushed by mobs of fans. Sam was darting around large clumps of nerds in order to even make her to pavilion. Suddenly, out of nowhere a bell rang off, followed by a loud rendition of "Congratulations!" from a group of happy employees all dawned in loose purple t-shirts and ball caps. Sam was hastily ushered to stage off to the right by a tall man in a grey trench coat with a white ponytail.

With a skinny microphone in his hand, he exclaimed in an annoying New Yorker accent, "Congratulations young lady! You are the 100 000th visitor! You have just one a new, top of the line Q-book! How does that make you feel?"

He put his microphone up to Sam who said blushing in surprise, "Um, good? What's a Q-book?"

He clapped his hand to his forehead, "What's a Q-book! Have you been living in a hole for the past month!"

Danny couldn't hear what she said next, because a large group of rambunctious oddballs crowded in front of him to see what all the commotion was about. He shuffled around in between the shoulders of the people, but still could not even get a glimpse of Sam. The excitement finally died down as the crowd dwindled off at separate directions and cleared the way. When he saw the stage again, Sam was missing.

Danny immediately turned around searching for her in the now empty auditorium, "Tucker, do you see Sam?"

Tucker who was looking at an I-pod case, unconcerned merely said, "No, haven't seen her since that weirdo came."

At this, Danny suddenly realized, "Did that weirdo seem familiar to you?"

Tucker who dropped the case, raised his eyebrows, "Yeah, his annoying voice almost sounded like-"

"Technus!" The boys yelled looking at each other in shock. In a mere two seconds, Danny quickly transformed into his ghost-self, and flew towards the tiled ceiling.

"Danny wait for me!" Tucker yelled up at him, but Danny had already turned intangible and disappeared from the building.

Outside, he already felt the cool evening breeze ruffle his white hair. In a spilt second, Danny saw the now transformed Technus leaving through a green, swirling ghost portal hovering in the middle of the purple sky with Sam's limp, lifeless body floating beside him. Danny zoomed to the portal but they had already passed on and it closed before he could reach it.

Tucker finally ran out of the building panting and yelled up, "Did you find her?"

Danny flew down to him and said quickly, "Yeah, Technus took her to the ghost zone. I have to go after her."

He went to fly off, but Tucker grabbed his left arm and said, "But, this could be a trap. Maybe we should both go."

Danny rolled his eyes and yanked his arm away, "Tucker, there's no time for this, he could be anywhere with her by now!"

Tucker started to worry, "Danny think about it, why would he kidnap her in the first place?"

Danny tried to reassure him, "I don't know but I've beat him before, don't worry." After that he flew away into the darkening sky, and Tucker could do nothing more, but watch his friend charge head-first into danger.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5:

When Danny had disappeared into the horizon, Tucker ran back into the emporium to find the rest of the Fentons. He had to follow him. After running past the video game aisle, he saw Jazz starring at a pink butterfly laptop alone.

"Jazz! Thank God I found you!" he yelled as he ran over to her.

She tore her gaze from the laptop and saw Tucker, "Oh, hey Tucker. What's up?"

Tucker panted, "It's Sam! She's been kidnapped by Technus, and taken to the Ghost Zone! And Danny's gone after him."

"All by himself? No! It could be a trap!" Jazz said in shock.

"I know! But he left anyways. We have to go help him!" Tucker exclaimed.

Jazz pointed at Tucker, "Ok. You get my parents, I'll get the RV." Tucker shook his head and the two ran in opposite directions to find what they needed.

Meanwhile, Danny slammed his finger impatiently into the on switch of the ghost portal in his basement. The thick steel doors slowly opened sideways to blanket the floors in an eery emerald light. He soared through the portal letting it engulf his entire body into the realm of the supernatural. Once he had passed through, he realized that he still didn't know the whereabouts of Technus' lair.

He pulled out the Infi-map from the pocket of his black uniform and peered at it, "Where they are?"

All of a sudden a geeky and non-terrifying voice appeared from behind Danny yelling, "Beware! For I am the Box Ghost, master of all rectangular carbonated containers!" Danny continued to search the map, and ignore the ghost. "Prepare to be captured and sold off for a large sum of money, in which I can use to buy new and improved cubic devices!"

Danny merely looked up at him, "You know you should really stop announcing your evil plans all the time." He then raised up his left and shouted, "Contain this!". Out of his hand shot a green jet of energy that hit the Box Ghost square in the chest.

The Box Ghost recoiled with smoldering smoke on his chest and shouted at the top of his lungs, "Argh! You shall pay for this Danny Phantom!"

At the sound of the ghost boy's name echoing throughout the zone, there was a sudden flurry of ghosts opening the doors to their lairs.

The Fright Knight poked his head out and said in a deep voice, "Danny Phantom! Where?"

Johnny 13 was already outside of his liar,"What? I don't seem him!"

"Is this another one of Youngblood's jokes?" Ember said with her arms crossed.

Then Kitty pointed straight at Danny, "No, I see him, he's over there!"

At this, a dozen ghosts soared out at top speed from all corners towards his direction. He was surrounded and the only way Danny could go is down. So he flew straight down into the abyss of the ghost zone hoping to God that he was fast enough to out-run them. He could see nothing but green and purple swirls as he twisted around the floating debris of the ghost zone, trying to shake them off. Slowly, one by one they backed away exhausted from trying to keep up for so long. When the Fright Knight shrugged his shoulders slumped off in the opposite direction, he was finally alone again. Danny stopped and leaned against a large billboard panting as he rested his hands on his knees. After he caught his breath, he looked around and finally saw what was on the billboard. He was starring at ginormous image of himself.

"Wanted..." Danny mouthed the words as he read across the sign, "30 million?" then he smiled, "I am really worth that much? This explains why there so many more ghosts around than usual." He then noticed a floating door that wasn't wooden and dull like the others, but was metal and flashing and automatic. "That must be Technus' lair." Danny floated up to door, it swung open and he entered.

WHOOSH! Before Danny could react, he was pushed to the concrete floor by a heavy object. Danny tried to get up by the object constructed his moments. He felt rough mesh on his hand and realized that he was in a net. Still sprawled on the ground, he slowly twisted his neck over his shoulder.

There, he saw Skulker smiling right back down at him. "Ha! Nice of you to drop in."

"I don't have time for this," Danny yelled and quickly transformed back into a human. He pushed against the net again but he could not break through.

Skulker chuckled, "Ha! Ha! You fool! Even in your human form, you cannot break through my new confinement. It is impervious to intangibility in both forms. One of my newest upgrades."

"Let me go!" Danny yelled as he thrashed around, only thinking of what dangers Sam could possibly be facing at the same moment.

"What and not collect the tidy bounty on your head? I'd rather not. And besides, don't you want to see your little girlfriend?" Skulker said grinning down at Danny's anxious face.

Danny rolled right around to face him, "What have you done to her!"

Skulker bent down on one knee to look Danny right in the eye"That, my friend, is something you will have to see for yourself."


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6:

Tucker sat tapping his foot impatiently on the steel floor in the back of the Fenton RV, "Can't this thing go any faster?"

"There's too much traffic!" Jack said as he cranked the wheel to the left to avoid a school bus stopped in the middle of the road.

Jazz was also unable to sit still as she rubbed her hands together nervously, "Who knows what trouble he could have gotten into by now!"

"Jack! There's a break!" Maddie shouted pointing at a slim space that the RV may be able to squeeze through. Jack immediately stepped on the gas, and with the wheels squealing, they charged on. After passing a white stretch limo, they turned down the Fenton's street. Jack went to parallel park the RV, but ended up stopping it diagonally on the sidewalk. "We'll worry about that later, honey," Maddie said as pushed the door open and jumped to the ground.

After Jack kicked the front door down with his foot, they ran inside. Tucker was the first to reach the bottom of the stairs in the basement. The room glowed an eery green, as the ghost portal was left abandoned by its last operator.

"Danny's already gone through," Jazz said as she stood beside Tucker.

Jack and Maddie had already started the Spector Speeder, and were waving for them to come.

Tucker looked at the swirling portal, "Let's just hope that we're not too late."

* * *

Danny, still trapped in Skulker's infernal net, sat motionlessly as he soared through the ghost zone. Skulker said, "Soon all my efforts to capture you will pay off," as he lugged Danny along beside him, Through the glowing mesh, Danny saw the black iron gates of a large penitentiary. Skulker approached two armoured guards on either side of the gates and stated, "I'm here to bring the ghost boy."

"Really?!" the one guard said astonished as the other lowered himself to regard the prisoner. The first guard tore his gaze from Danny, then cleared his throat realizing his amateurism, "Um. Of course, Walker's straight through to the left." The gates were automatically opened inwards, as Skulker ambled on, carrying Danny beside him. They crossed the empty gravel courtyard, where the prison guards patrolling the steel watch towers eyed them suspiciously from above.

"Ugh, this place still gives the creeps, even though I escaped so long ago," Skulker said as he scanned all the guards with his mechanical eyes. "You might as well get used to it. With the sentence Walker's going to give you, you might be stuck in here for an eternity."

"That's what you think," Danny retorted looking at Skulker with loathing, "The moment I find Sam, we're making a break for it."

"Hey, what do I care? As long as I get that large bounty on you, I could care less what happens to you." Skulker said as he reached a metallic door with a small window closed off by iron bars.

Danny could hear Technus's irritating yammer through the door, "So how much for the girl?"

"Right now, nothing. She's worth nothing without the ghost boy," Walker replied in his deep, authoritative voice.

Skulker pushed the heavy door open with his shoulder, and Danny was greeted by an unusual scene. There Sam was, hung on the wall by her wrists and ankles by the same strange glowing string that Danny was trapped in. At the sight of Danny her already fatigued face worsened into a more overanxious position. Walker, who was sitting with his shining boots on an oak desk, had risen at the sight of Danny with a look of hunger in his eyes.

Technus, who was standing across the table pointing a latex gloved hand in their direction, "See, I told you we were bringing him." Skulker's boots clunked against the steel floor, as he crossed the room and tossed Danny onto the ground in front of Walker.

"Hey!" Danny said as he rubbed his now sore behind.

Walker peered down at him so that his skeletal figures were no more than an inch away, "Very good boys. Very good indeed."

Technus advanced forward towards the warden, "So, now, how much do we get with both of them?"

Walker slowly walked over to Sam and grabbed her chin to observe her. She immediately shook him off disgusted.

"Leave her alone!" Danny yelled at him, trying to break free of his confines.

Walker who was delighting in Danny's distress chuckled, "Ha. Ha. How about nothing."

"WHAT?!" Skulker and Technus both shouted in unison.

Skulker was the one who now advanced on Walker, "What about our 30 million?"

"30 million? I'm running a prison, not a country-club. I don't have that kind of money."

"But...But...Why would you put up that billboard?" Technus said on the verge of tears.

Walker, who was still smiling, sat on his desk smoothly, "I thought that type of advertisement would attract the criminal sort, such as yourselves. Why not kill two birds with one stone, or in this case three. You two haven't completed your jail sentence since the last time you escaped. I am not one to forget that easily."

Skulker was wringing his hands together, "Tell me one good reason why I shouldn't break your neck into two."

Walker merely pressed a red button on top of his desk, and the wall behind shot open with a mob of armed prison at the ready. "Guards, seize these two pests!"

At his command, a dozen guards swarmed Technus and Skulker by pulling their hands behind their back and cuffing them. As the guards pushed the perpetrators back through the hidden door, Skulker yelled over his shoulder, "You're gonna regret this Walker!" The warden watched the two being pushed roughly down the hall by the brawny guards.

Once the door snapped tight, Walker returned his gaze to Danny. He grinned and said hungrily, "I've been waiting a long time for this," He reached into a drawer from his desk and pulled out a beige file folder. "Let's see. Ah, Mr. Danny Phantom last time you were here was for bringing an outside object into the ghost zone, and you were sentenced 1000 years. Well, you still have to pay that jail time. Oh, and then you escaped from jail so that warrants another 1000 years... Hmm. Resisting arrest, that's a good 200 years, oh and frequently bringing humans in and out of the zone, 400 more years. So that brings a grand total of 2600 years of imprisonment, or for life, whichever comes first."

"Fat chance," Danny said in spite of the fact the he had no idea how was going to escape this one.

Walker carried on as if Danny had never spoken, "But before I lock you away forever, let's have some fun with our guest." He walked over to Sam and regarded her head to foot, "So many options, but what to do first."

"Let her go, she hasn't done anything wrong!" Danny yelled fearing what would happen next.

"Yes, but she was given to me as a gift. I should at least enjoy myself," the warden replied as he reached back into the desk drawer again. When his hand reemerged into view, it was holding a small device no bigger than an electric shaver, and had two pointed edges at the top. He flicked a small switch on with his thumb, and an ultra-violet electrical current sprung from one pointed end and connected with the other end. It was some sort of taser. He slowly turned, and walked towards Sam, the bright violet sparks illuminating her ivory face.

"No!" Danny yelled pushing himself towards Walker, the net digging into his skin. Walker slowly raised the taser up Sam's arm, jabbed it into her. Immediately Sam's body thrashed around as the hot electrical current passed through her. She was screaming at the top of her lungs as she shut her eyes, wincing.

Danny couldn't stand it, as pushed even harder on his net. It was then that Danny noticed that he was slowly rolling closer. So, he kept thrusting against the mesh with his arms. Each time, he moved a sliver closer to Walker over the rough steel floor. Finally, he gave one last push which caused him to crash right into Walker's knees with a force strong enough to knock him over. Sam was sparred of the electrifying torture, but not soon enough, as she fell unconscious, her body hanging limply, strapped to the wall.

Walker got up from the ground and angrily kicked Danny in the stomach. "I had enough of your attitude!" Walker said, as Danny rolled around on the floor, grasping for air holding his winded ribs. Walker turned away from him and called,"Guards!" Right away two muscular guards dawned in armour came in through the main door. Walker looked back at Danny over his shoulder, "Show the ghost boy his new home."

The one guard grabbed the ties of the net with one hand and yanked Danny off the floor. Danny, who was entangled oddly in the net, cranked his neck to get one last look at his lifeless girlfriend hanging on the cold metallic wall.

As Danny swayed in his trappings beside the towering guard, they crossed the gravel courtyard to a separate building. Once inside, Danny felt the cold damp air surrounding the concrete walls, like an abandoned basement. The travelled down a flight of stairs where cob-webs hung hauntingly on the dirty ceiling. By the looks of it, this place hadn't been used in a long time. In the middle of the mirthless room lied a solitary jail cell with nothing but a pathetic wooden cot inside. The one guard pulled a bronze skeleton key out of his pocket and creaked open the barred door. The another guard chucked Danny to the floor inside the cell. He then pulled a jackknife out, sliced the glowing mesh off Danny, and pulled the netting from underneath him, causing Danny to violently roll over onto his face.

Spitting dust out of his mouth, he slowly rose to his feet as the guards disappeared. Danny stretched arms finally free of the cramped net. He paced back and forth in his claustrophobic cell, trying to devise a plan. He tried turning into a human again, but the bars were invincible to his intangibility. He grabbed the lock on the outside of the cell and observed it. The hole was too small to fit anything into, and it was too thick to break. Danny sat tiredly down on his creaking cot. It was impossible to escape this time. Even if he could escape, how would he free Sam right in front of Walker? Sam shouldn't even be here. It was all his fault and he knew it.

Danny rose and looked out the window on the far wall opposite him. He leaned his arms on the iron bars, and watched the purple clouds swirling by. It was foolish of him to have a girlfriend with so many enemies after him. Of course, they were going to use her as bait. Maybe she would've been better off if they had never fallen in love.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7:

The Fentons and Tucker were soaring through the bedimmed abyss of the Ghost Zone in the Spector Speeder, looking for any sign of Danny. It had been two long hours, and they still had no idea where to go.

"Are you sure you guys never found where Technus lived?" Jazz asked still starring out the window.

Tucker who was now shaking his head, replied, "Nah, we never had the time. If only I had the Infi-map, we would already be there."

Jack, started jumping up and down in his cushy seat and pointed, "Is that him?"

Maddie jerked her head in the same direction and cringed, "Oh, I hope not."

"No, that's the Box Ghost. Don't even pay him any attention," Tucker replied slouching in his seat, his hopes dashed yet again.

"Can we go get him?" Jack begged to Maddie, sitting the front seat beside him.

Maddie sighed and shook her head, "We can't, honey. I know its hard to ignore every ghost we see, but we need to go help Danny. Maybe afterwards."

Jack was now thoroughly disappointed and slumped onto the steering wheel, "Ok." They continued to drive on, through the floating debris of rocks and abandoned doors. More silent minutes passed on like slow viscous syrup dripping out of a frozen tap.

Nothing unusual happened until Jazz suddenly pointed to the windshield and screamed, "Dad, watch out!" The Spector Speeder was ploughing straight for a large wooden structure at an immense speed. Jack pushed down on the brakes and yanked hard on the wheel, which caused the vehicle to turn sharply, flinging its contents and passengers tightly against one wall. When they finally stopped spinning out of control, they realized what they were about crash into was not a building, but a very out of place billboard.

"Uh oh. This doesn't look very good," Tucker said as he starred up at the oversized face of his best friend.

Jazz was more interested in the ruby words below, "30 million dollars, really?"

Tucker stood up from his seat in the back of the Speeder, "I know where he is! He's in Walker's prison!"

"Prison! My little baby? Oh dear," Maddie replied, shocked by Danny's misfortune.

Tucker walked up behind Jack's chair and pointed off to the east, "And if I remember correctly, it should be over in that direction."

"Nobody imprisons a Fenton!" Jack yelled as the Speeder burst forward in accelerating velocity. The impact of the sudden speed knocked Tucker back into his seat. The vehicle travelled so fast that it blurred out of sight, sending vibrations echoing throughout the empty vastness.

* * *

Danny had begun to pace back and forth again. He didn't like being locked away in such a small cramped cell left with nothing to do but mull over his thoughts. He had too much energy building up inside himself, as the guilty sensation in the pit of his stomach was almost crippling. He had to keep moving to distract himself from his feelings. Sam could be anywhere now, experiencing unimaginable pain and suffering, only because she had a relationship with Danny, the enemy of the Ghost Zone. If only he had brought Tucker along, he may have a least had a slim chance of saving her.

Danny's silent thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a loud screech that pierced the dormant air. Danny could recognize that voice anywhere, it was Sam's. Another scream followed, this time at a higher interval so that it echoed around the walls that encompassed Danny. It was enough to make the blood in his veins curdle. He couldn't stand there and just listen to her being tortured any longer. He searched around his cell for something, anything that could be in the slightest use to him. There was nothing but dust. He frantically tried to blast the lock off the door with ray of green energy. Nothing happened. Sam screams continued to evade the prison walls, happening more frequently then before. What is he doing to her? In a frustration Danny could not contain within himself, he grabbed the wooden legs of the archaic cot lying in the corner of his cell, and chucked the entire thing against the cold, stone wall. In a deafening bang, pieces of wood and nails shattered onto the floor. After a few deep breaths, Danny leaned against the rough, iron bars of his cell and slid to the ground, resting his sweaty forehead in his aching hands.

Danny slowly closed his eyes and thought, "I just have to calm down and think." He opened his eyes again and starred at the rough, filthy floor. There were shards of wood scattered everywhere, as well as shining pin-like nails. Danny picked up one of these nails beside his foot, and examined it closely in his fingertips. He stood up and grabbed the heavy lock on the outside of the cell door. He carefully inserted the minuscule nail into the keyhole and poked around at the unseen contents inside. After sliding the sharp end under a little ridge to the right, the lock clicked loose. Danny unhooked the heavy object of the door and flung it to the floor.

As the door creaked opened on its own, Danny just stood there for a while, not believing his luck. He then, soared up the stairs and stopped right before the door leading out into the heavily guarded courtyard. He turned intangible and stuck his head through the door. There didn't seem to be any guards around, except for those patrolling the watch towers above. He passed through the door and floated straight across the open gravel, the guards never changing their position. He reached the room where Sam was held hostage, and slipped through the door, invisible.

Sam was still chained against the wall, and was now shouting at Walker, who was kneeled by a fireplace in the corner, "If you keep abusing your power, no one will trust you. I'm surprised that all the ghosts here haven't already ganged up on you!"

"They couldn't. They're too afraid of me," Walker said as he stood up, and turned around. In his gloved hand lied a long iron poker, the sharp tip of it glowing an inflamed orange.

At the sight of the burning metal, Sam's violet eyes widened as she said, "You're sick."

Without a moment to lose, Danny reappeared and flew straight at Walker. Danny's head crashed right into Walker's hard stomach, and he toppled over the oak desk, sending the hot poker to clink to the floor. As Walker recovered from the unexpected attack, Danny soared beside Sam and carefully melted the cuffs off her ankles and wrists with a slender energy ray. After staggering a bit, Sam leaned against the cold wall, wincing while she rubbed her raw wrists.

Walker pushed the red button on his oak desk and yelled angrily, "Oh no you don't! Guards, we a prisoner attempting escape!" Immediately, the secret doors opened again this time with a mob of thirty brawny guards at the ready.

Danny, who was standing in front of Sam, starred right into her violet eyes, "Hold on."

Sam quickly hugged Danny tightly around his chest, before they soared out of the building, intangible, as the guards merely watched them overhead.

They flew over the empty courtyard and were approaching the outer limits of the penitentiary, when a blue translucent force field materialized, slowly encircling the entire prison. They frantically looked for another opening, but the only break in the barrier was through the main gate. They fell lower to try and squeeze through the gate but a wall of guards suddenly blocked their path. Danny turned to fly in the opposite direction, until he saw more guards charging from all corners. He set Sam in the middle of the gravel courtyard, the only spot where it wasn't covered in Walker's minions. They were surrounded as more ghosts swept in over the emptiness. Danny tried to send a large green ball of energy into the crowd, but it was no use. Each time he knocked a guard to the ground, it was replaced by another who just climb over the fallen body. Where were all these ghosts coming from? Soon Danny and Sam where back to back trying to avoid the grasps of the guards that encircled them.

Through all the chaos Danny heard Walker's deep voice, "Give it up, Danny. You've lost."

Suddenly their was a loud blast as a clump of minions scattered out the way. Danny looked to the left and saw the Spector Speeder ploughing a way through the mass of guards towards their direction. The vehicle screeched sideways over the gravel so that the side door faced them. When it pushed open Danny was eased to see the welcoming face of his best friend.

"Hop in!" Tucker yelled over the noise. Danny helped Sam limp into the Speeder, before he jumped in beside her. Once Tucker slammed the door shut, they accelerating over more bodies of the guards. They bounced over the fallen gate and finally escaped.

Looking out the back window, the guards had never left the confines of Walker's prison. With Sam leaning on his shoulder, he brought her to the back of the vehicle, and sat her down on a soft chair. He plucked down beside her and held her cold hand in his.

He noticed that her ivory wrists were lined with a raw, red line from the chains she was trapped in. He looked at her fatigued face that was now smiling faintly at him and asked, "Are you ok?"

She starred straight into his blazing emerald eyes and replied, "I am, now that I'm with you."

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Tucker shift uncomfortably in his seat. Danny cleared his throat and turned to him, "Tucker, I'm sorry for being such a jerk," At this Tucker turned to look at Danny as he continued his speech, "I'm glad you came. It's good to know that I have a friend like you who will still help me even though I don't deserve it."

Tucker merely waved him off, "Meh, what are friends for. Besides, I probably would have done the same thing if I was in your position." Danny smiled back at his friend, before Tucker turned back to the front.

Danny leaned his back into the soft cushioning as he watched the swirling Ghost Zone pass by his window. It was a few minutes later that he realized that Sam had dozed off and leaned her head on his shoulder. He didn't mind, in fact it was smoothing to know that she was alright, resting peacefully beside him. He didn't ever want her to leave him. He looked back out the window again, watching the odd bits of debris float loosely in the abyss, reflecting over the events of this wearisome day. Sam's face twisted in pain as she was tortured in electricity was still imprinted in his mind, as if it had just happen seconds ago. He would never let her suffer like that again. But how would he stop every enemy he had from using her as bait once more? Maybe their relationship wasn't meant to be. If he truly loved her, he would let her go, let her enjoy a life without fear and suffering. As long as the world knew her as Danny Phantom's girlfriend, she would always be in danger.

Just then an idea sprang into Danny's head that would allow Sam to still date him without being in moral peril. Danny sat up on the edge of his seat, waking Sam up as her head slid to the cold window. He yelled, "Stop!" and immediately Jack slammed hard on the brakes causing everyone to lurch forward painfully.

Everyone turned to look at Danny as Maddie said, "What is it, dear?"

Danny replied to the confused faces surrounding him, "We're not quite done in the Ghost Zone."


End file.
